^The truth emerged this week after a report claimed to have unearthed the identity of the Stig as Ben Collins, a Bristol-based former American speedway driver and stuntman who doubled for Daniel Craig in the latest James Bond film.

.He started his motorsport career in 1994, competing in Formula First and Formula Vauxhall Junior on his way to International Formula 3.^Collins started his motorsport career in 1994, competing in Formula First and Formula Vauxhall Junior on his way to International Formula 3.

Who is the Stig? The answer - Telegraph11 September 2009 8:29 UTCwww.telegraph.co.uk [Source type: News]

^Ben Collins began racing in Formula First and Formula Vauxhall Junior at 19, before competing in Formula 3 racing  two tiers behind World Champion Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1.

He found success in Motor Sport in several branches ranging from Formula Three and Le Mans Sportscars to GT and NASCAR.

.Collins was placed second in the Marlboro Masters world class Formula 3 championship event in 2000. He set the pace at the 2001 Le Mans 24 hours race in his first season for approximately four hours during the rain at night.^After beginning his career in motor racing in 1994, he has raced at Le Mans, in Formula Three and GT and now charges upwards of £1,000 for giving motivational speeches.

Bristol man and former NASCAR driver revealed as The Stig | The Australian11 September 2009 8:29 UTCwww.theaustralian.news.com.au [Source type: News]

^This is also his second victory and 11th top-10 finish in 2009 and his first victory and first top-10 finish in one races at Iowa Speedway.

.After winning the European Stock Car Championship in 2003 ASCARstock car racing he was signed by PDM Racing to do selected rounds of the 2004 Indy Racing League, but the car never appeared.^The Indy Racing League wisely decided to make practice an ?all-skate?

.In 2005, he competed in the British GT Championship in a Porsche 996 GT3, winning races on the way before moving up to the FIA GT Series with Ascari where he led races and scored several Pole Positions.^The Damax Team, who are entering the three Ascari KZ-1R cars in this year's GT3 Championship spent one day testing the cars at Snetterton Circuit before heading off the Silverstone.

2001 - FIA World Sportscar Championship with Ascari (LMP1): 3rd overall - 1 Win, 3 Podiums - Fastest driver at Le Mans 2001 for four hours in rain.^He is a former Le Mans driver, and was revealed after ordering a limited edition print of himself from a gallery in Bristol.

^He began his motor sport career in 1994 and has raced at Le Mans and in NASCAR, Formula Three and in GT. He has also worked as Daniel Craig's stunt driver in Quantum of Solace and he was in the army for four years.

2005 - FIA/British GT Series with Embassy Racing: 3rd overall in Porsche RSR GT2 with 2 Wins, 4 Podiums.^Collins was reported as setting the pace for the Le Mans series in 2001, and competed in the 2005 British GT Championship in a Porsche 911 GT3 a car which Top Gear fanatic and Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay (see below) is particularly keen on.

2006 - FIA GT3 (Ascari): Led every race until driver change, Pole Position Mugello (by over 1 second).^Ben Collins then moved up to the FIA GT series, and was a test driver for carmaker Ascari, during development of its hardcore A10 supercar.

.Competed in Le Mans Endurance Series in LMP1 category with Reynard (Nurburg) and carried out LMP1 testing duties for Zytek motorsport.

2007 – FIA GT3 (Ascari): Pole Position at Romania where Collins was injured during an accident in Qualifying caused by a spinning car.^Collins is a former racer who has competed in Formula Three, Le Mans, GT and NASCAR along with performing duties as a stunt driver in films such as the recent James Bond flick Quantum of Solace .

^Collins was reported as setting the pace for the Le Mans series in 2001, and competed in the 2005 British GT Championship in a Porsche 911 GT3 a car which Top Gear fanatic and Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay (see below) is particularly keen on.

.Collins tested a Nascar Nextel Cup car at Lakeland Speedway with Red Bull Racing.^Should Rusty Wallace come back to NASCAR? yes rusty wallace should come back to racing many people miss rusty in his #2 ford car.

.Placed 1st & 3rd at Silverstone and conducted Testing in an LMP2 Radical

2008 - American Le Mans Series with Eco Racing in an LMP1 Radical with a diesel engine.^After beginning his career in motor racing in 1994, he has raced at Le Mans, in Formula Three and GT and now charges upwards of £1,000 for giving motivational speeches.

Bristol man and former NASCAR driver revealed as The Stig | The Australian11 September 2009 8:29 UTCwww.theaustralian.news.com.au [Source type: News]

^Top Gear test driver The Stig has been unmasked as professional stuntman and Le Mans racer Ben Collins.

Who is the Stig? The answer - Telegraph11 September 2009 8:29 UTCwww.telegraph.co.uk [Source type: News]

^Iain & Gail Shankland were capturing all the American Le Mans Series action at Mosport over the weekend!

.The car failed to start at Sebring and was only seen again in racing form towards the latter part of the season.

2009 - Named as an endurance driver for Australian V8 Supercars team, Kelly Racing/Jack Daniel's Racing, partnering with Nathan Pretty.^The system that requires the binary driver is the *only* one available in the specified form factor with the specified cpu architecture.

Work

.Collins has been a test driver for racing manufacturer Ascari during Ascari A10 development.^Ben Collins then moved up to the FIA GT series, and was a test driver for carmaker Ascari, during development of its hardcore A10 supercar.

.He has worked as precision-driver in the film National Treasure: Book of Secrets where he doubled for the actor and drove in some of the high-speed sequences in London.^Yes, Ben Collins was a stunt driver in 2008s James Bond film Quantum of Solace, and drove the super-sexy Aston Martin DBS. .

[4][7].He also holds a World Record for the maximum distance of driving a car on two wheels (a maneuver called "skiing").^Mr Swift also holds 3 Guinness world records:- Parallel parking in the tightest space, J Turn in the tightest space and the fastest 'do-nuts' where a car continuously wheel-spins around in a circle.

.He is a regular writer for Autosport Magazine testing the latest Racing Cars, has written for The Sunday Times, fronted Sky Sports' televised NASCAR coverage, along with appearances on the British car-focused television programmes Top Gear (BBC Two), Pulling Power (ITV1) and driven (Channel 4).^The Stig is the unidentified test driver of vehicles on the favourite BBC Sunday night programme, Top Gear.

^That being said, the secret racing driver from Top Gear that helped Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May test new cars is no one else than the professional stuntman and Le Mans racer Ben Collins.

.Collins presented television programme Xtreme Teen Drivers,[4] shown on BBC Three on 15 December 2007; as an advanced driving instructor within the programme, he was trying to teach a young boy racer to drive more safely.^Collins is a former racer who has competed in Formula Three, Le Mans, GT and NASCAR along with performing duties as a stunt driver in films such as the recent James Bond flick Quantum of Solace .

Top Gear appearances

.Collins has appeared on the popular BBC television programme Top Gear.^Hes also appeared on Top Gear  fuelling speculation from an early stage of his helmeted-alter ego  when a skydiving parachutist jumped from an aeroplane into the backseat of a convertible Mercedes-Benz driven at high speed by Collins.

^Collins had initially portrayed himself as a BBC marketing executive[10] and only confirmed a more detailed connection to the Top Gear character after the signing of confidentiality agreements by the business owners.

^Other fans of Top Gear, presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, have been closing in on Collins in recent months.

Who is the Stig? The answer - Telegraph11 September 2009 8:29 UTCwww.telegraph.co.uk [Source type: News]

.In 2004, Ben Collins made an appearance during the fourth season of Top Gear, alongside parachutist Tim Carter.^Ben Collins is a little known racer who has appeared on Top Gear as part of a parachuting stunt and this led to speculation over whether or not he was the secret Stig.

[8].The stunt involved Carter and an aerial cameraman jumping out of a Cessna light aircraft then landing in the open-toppedMercedes car being driven at a speed by Collins.^The stunt involved Carter and an aerial cameraman jumping out of a Cessna light aircraft then landing in the open-topped Mercedes car being driven at speed by Collins.

^Hes also appeared on Top Gear  fuelling speculation from an early stage of his helmeted-alter ego  when a skydiving parachutist jumped from an aeroplane into the backseat of a convertible Mercedes-Benz driven at high speed by Collins.

^Collins was named as Top Gears "high-speed driver" by the BBC in the investigation into Richard Hammonds crash Heikki Kovalainen was in the Stig suit for the lap in the Renault F1 car a few years back .

.Also in 2004, Collins appears (a 2-second shot) as a member of Hammond's driving team in a 24-hour Citroen 2CV race (in which they finished 13th out of 14 cars).^This is also his second victory and 11th top-10 finish in 2009 and his first victory and first top-10 finish in one races at Iowa Speedway.

.In 2005, the driver featured during series five, driving a Lancer Evo VII and then a Bowler Wildcat vehicle in a rally race against mountain boarding world champion Tom Kirkman.^In 2005, the driver featured during series five, driving a Lancer Evo VII and then a Bowler Wildcat vehicle in a rally race against mountain boarding world champion Tom Kirkman.

.At the start of series six, Collins appeared with other British Touring Car Championship racing and stunt drivers for a Five-a-side football game using a fleet of Toyota Aygo cars.^Ben Collins is a little known racer who has appeared on Top Gear as part of a parachuting stunt and this led to speculation over whether or not he was the secret Stig.

.Collins played in a teamcaptained by Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond.^However, Top Gear presenter James May claimed that the Stig's identity has not been outed and there has been speculation that there may be more than one person to be the Stig.

.On a separate occasion, following an accident involving Richard Hammond in September 2006, the Health & Safety Executive report into the event recorded that Collins had "worked closely with Top Gear as a high performance driver and consultant" and had prepared a briefing for Richard Hammond preceding the event.^He was named in the accident report for Richard Hammond's crash as an "high performance driver and consultant".

^On a separate occasion, following an accident involving Richard Hammond in September 2006, the Health & Safety Executive report into the event recorded that Collins had "worked closely with Top Gear as a high performance driver and consultant" and had prepared a briefing for Richard Hammond preceding the event.

Allegations

On 19 January 2009, British newspaper The Daily Telegraph ran a story claiming that they had "outed" Collins as being one of the people behind the white-suited incarnation of the Stig, at the same time noting that "Collins, from Bristol, has always denied being the Stig".[7]

.The Times, in a follow-up article, stated that the "identity of the white-suited Stig ...^The identity of White Stig has not been officially revealed and is regarded as a carefully guarded secret by the BBC. .

Who is the Stig? The answer - Telegraph11 September 2009 8:29 UTCwww.telegraph.co.uk [Source type: News]

has been an open secret within the motoring world for some years, with newspapers refraining from publishing his name, to uphold the spirit of the programme." which concluded that "a newspaper broke with the convention to out Mr Collins, 33, after following up a story in a Bristol newspaper".[12]

.Two Bristol-based local newspapers had published articles a week earlier, on the basis of information leaked from a local art-gallery.^Two Bristol-based local newspapers had published articles a week earlier, on the basis of information leaked from a local art-gallery.

.Collins had previously commissioned a Clifton-based father and son business in September 2008, to produce a limited-edition run of 450 poster prints to be sold on at a price of £318 each.^Collins had previously commissioned a Clifton-based father and son business in September 2008, to produce a limited-edition run of 450 poster prints to be sold on at a price of £318 each.

[13].Collins had initially portrayed himself as a BBC marketing executive[13] and only confirmed a more detailed connection to the Top Gear character after the signing of confidentiality agreements by the business owners.^Collins had initially portrayed himself as a BBC marketing executive[10] and only confirmed a more detailed connection to the Top Gear character after the signing of confidentiality agreements by the business owners.

^The driver has also featured as himself in various episodes of the show and a report in 2006 into Hammond’s near-death crash detailed that Mr Collins had briefed the host and “worked closely with Top Gear as a high performance driver and consultant”.

Bristol man and former NASCAR driver revealed as The Stig | The Australian11 September 2009 8:29 UTCwww.theaustralian.news.com.au [Source type: News]

^However, Top Gear presenter James May claimed that the Stig's identity has not been outed and there has been speculation that there may be more than one person to be the Stig.

.However, Top Gear presenter James May claimed that the Stig's identity has not been outed and there has been speculation that there may be more than one person to be the Stig.^However, Top Gear presenter James May claimed that the Stig's identity has not been outed and there has been speculation that there may be more than one person to be the Stig.